Uncommon Ground: Land Art in Britain 1966-1979
This exhibition of the collection held by the Arts Council, a branch of London's Southbank Center, began on September 28th and will remain open through January 5th, 2014. Its curators are Nicholas Alfrey (University of Nottingham), Joy Sleeman 9Slade School of Art, University of London), and Ben Tufnell (curator and writer), who present the work of artists such as Tony Cragg, Antony Gormley, Hamish Fulton, Richard Long, Anthony McCall, and David Nash, among others.
Uncommon Ground explores the unique characteristics of British topography and analyzes the way in which landscape and nature became key concerns in conceptual art in the United Kingdom. The show reveals the varied expressions of Land Art in Great Britain, with emphasis on conceptualism, ephemeral art, and the organic, manual operation of materials in media such as sculpture, performance, and photography.
Artists of the late 1960s sought to transcend the restricted space of art galleries and brought their experimentation to the open air, questioning and transforming the terms "landscape art" and spawning a renewed interest in the traditional and historical modes of the discipline.
The key strategies developed in the United Kingdom included the photographic documentation of actions and the concept of displacement and itinerancy as creative actions in the natural environment. Added to this was a social-local exploration, and the raising of awareness about the rural context.
As complementary events to the show, there will be lectures, projections, and a series of discussion panels. For the complete program and more information, visit www.artscouncilcollection.org.uk
